By Any Name
by DepressingGreenie
Summary: The world of spies is not kind on love. [Stony/Steve x Tony] #Mutual Pining, #Spies/Secret Agents AU, #Analyst Tony Stark, #Agent Steve Rogers, #Identity Porn, #Trippe Identity Porn, #Cap-IM Holiday Exchange, (Community Gift for the '2019 Cap-Iron Man Holiday Exchange')


Tony sighs as he enters the lunch complex. Another day without Roger Stevens. He misses his friend sorely.

Agent Stevens was officially on a mission over in Europe. He is not meant to know but Agent Stevens is in enemy territory as a double agent, as a man called Hugo Waltz. Sometimes he is frustrated with how easy it was for him to brake his way into the agencies secure files.

He worries. Stevens is an incredible agent and he had complete trust in his abilities, he hates to see him hurt though.

Stevens was a kind, friendly man. He didn't seem to buy into the whole tech vs agent thing. He was more than happy to sit down and chat with Tony. And he was handsome. Roger Stevens was the man everyone wanted to be or be with. Yet it never went to his head.

It became their thing to sit down and eat lunch together. They were quick to become friends. He and Stevens had a sense of humour that complemented each other. If there was anyone at SHIELD who could make him smile on the hardest days, it would be him. He misses Stevens and hopes he's doing okay.

He looks around the lunch complex, taking in who was around, if there was anyone he was interested sitting next to. He knows it not Steven day to check in here but finds himself disappointed still when he doesn't see him.

Someone does take his interest though. There is a guy he never met before sitting in the corner alone. A new guy?

Tony decides to say hi and sit by him. He nearly thinks he did the wrong thing for a moment at the shock on the man's face. But the man smiles as he sits.

The guy's name is Joseph Grant. He seems like a nice guy.

* * *

Steve is a triple agent. He never thought that would ever be the case in his career as an agent.

Director Fury had sent him deep under cover as a new agent over at Hydra. He received a new look and a new name. Everything.

He was shocked when Von Strucker pulled him aside. He had thought he had been placed, but decided to play it cool. There was no use blowing his cover if they didn't know his true purpose in the first place.

Von Strucker had wanted to send him deep undercover in SHIELD. The reasoning being that it wouldn't matter if he was found out, he was new and low level. There was nothing much he could spill to SHIELD and he toy soldier that could be replaced with little consequence.

So, he was sent back to SHIELD as their double agent, a triple agent is reality. Another new identity.

First thing he does when he gets back to SHIELD was to inform Fury. The director decided that they should roll with this.

Steve walks into the lunch complex, Joseph Grant, a Hydra's double agent, SHIELD's triple.

He sits down at an empty lunch table. He misses his friend, Harrold Potts. The man wouldn't even recognise him currently. He misses his talks over lunch. The benefit of being over at Hydra was that, while he misses Potts, he wouldn't have to sit in the place he shares his lunches and eat alone. There wouldn't be the possibly to see his friend and have the man not even recognise him. To watch Potts walk past him.

He had taken lunch earlier in hopes that he would avoid Pott's lunch break to save himself the hurt.

Steve pushes his food around his plate and sighs.

He startles when someone sits down next to him. Steve turns and finds himself staring into the gorgeous brown eyes of Potts.

Worry swells up in his gut. Did Potts recognise him? Was his disguise so transparent that he could see who he was?

"Hope you don't mind me sitting here." Potts says. "My name is Harold Potts" he offers Steve is hand.

Steve smiles at him, relieved that his disguise did in fact work. "Joseph Grant. I don't mind at all"

He happily lets himself get swept up into a conversation with Potts, feeling better than he had in a month. He had sorely missed his friend.

* * *

Joseph Grant was an odd man, but he was charming if a little aloof. He had a warm smile and was the cute kind of awkward. He was always well put together and was over all good man.

The SHIELD's policies advised strongly against relationships. And if you did choice to pursue one, there were nearly a thousand hurdles you had to get through. And at least three tons of paperwork. Everyone was sufficiently deterred from staring romantic relationships with all the bureaucracy that nobody even tried. In all of SHIELD's 80 years there had only ever been six known relationships.

Tony found himself conflicted.

There was only ever one man he had even considered starting a relationship despite of all this in his 23 years working at the SHIELD, and that was Roger Stevens.

Until now that was.

He sits beside Joseph at their lunch spot, listening to the man laugh at one of his jokes. Tony picks up his coffee and stares into the dark liquid. He wonders, if he asked, would Joseph go through all the work SHIELD put in the way to be with him. He asks himself, if he had the guts to ask, who would he ask? Would he ask Joseph Grant or Roger Stevens? Would either of them say yes?

It not worth the risk of losing either of them to find out. He takes a sip of his coffee and sighs.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Joseph asks, his hazel eyes gazing deep into his own.

Tony flashes him a smile. "Oh, you know. Paperwork and SHIELD policies"

An unidentifiable emotion flashes in Joseph's eyes. He doesn't know if the man believes him or had accepted the half-truth. But he can't allow himself to hold the hope that Joseph understands and feels the same for him.

* * *

_**The End**_

Notes: For the Cap-Iron Man Holiday Exchange 2019.  
Prompt: identity porn! double identity porn! TRIPLE IDENTITY PORN! (there is no such thing as too much identity porn) (Any Canon)

I saw this prompt and felt absolutely compelled to fill it. But I couldn't work out how. I was competently stumped. I confided my troubles to my brother (not all that much into fandom), and he gave me the solution as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Spies.

The Title was inspired by Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene II (My favourite bit of poetry - Thanks to my yr 10 English teacher)  
_"What's in a name? that which we call a rose_  
_By any other name would smell as sweet;_  
_So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,_  
_Retain that dear perfection which he owes"_

**[By any name, Steve would still be Steve, and therefore be loved by Tony]**


End file.
